Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday after declines on Wall Street and a drop in Australia’s balance of trade.
By 12 pm AEDT (1 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 had climbed 0.2% to 8,712.80 points, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.8% to 51,536.48 and South Korea’s Kospi 200 had risen 0.6% to 668.18.
Australia’s balance of trade fell by A$1.42 billion in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said, as exports fell by 2.9%, driven by metal ores and minerals while imports were up 0.2%.
Japan will also release consumer confidence data for December today.
In the United States, the S&P 500 shed 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Dow hit all-time highs before dropping.
Brent crude prices shed 1.2% to US$59.96 per barrel. Spot gold dipped 0.9% to $4,445.32 per ounce.
The Shanghai Composite rose by 0.1% to 4,085.77. The CSI 300 shed 0.3% to 4,776.67.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was was down 1% to 26,458.95, while India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.1% to 84,961.14.
European markets were mixed, with the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 falling 0.7% to 10,048.21. Germany’s DAX rose 0.9% to 25,122.26 and France’s CAC 40 was roughly flat at 8,233.92.
